M. Seppola Simonsen | Norway

Neither poem has a title, and both were first published in the collection “Hjerteskog/Syđänmettä” in 2022, by Flamme Forlag.

Poem 1:

i en annen tid

staker jeg en elvebåt

så lett, den raser opp

Raisinjoki som en gud

urelva hvor steinen ligger

like under strømmen

og jeg er så lett

og det samme er båten

vi har alltid gjort dette, på grunna

vi ble laget til dette formålet alene
 
 
 

English version, for translation purposes only:

in another time
I punt* a river boat
so light, it rages up
Raisinjoki** like a god
The primeval river where stone lies
just beneath the current
and I’m so light
and so is the boat
we have always done this, in the shallows
we were made for only this

*The river boat was traditionally pushed, or punted, rather than rowed, up the stream. That said, row or launch can also work.

**this is the name of a river and should be in italics

 

Poem 2:

vinteren kommer så raskt

grønne blader støpes i is

dette er Arktis, varmt på innsiden

svarte bølger hamrer mot stranda

måken skriker, stemmen sprekker

på deg vil jeg vente

på laksen som kommer tilbake i juli
med sølvskjell som funkler forvrengt

English version, for translation purposes only:

winter comes so fast
green leaves are forged in ice
this is the Arctic, warm on the inside
black waves hammer the beach
seagulls shriek, my voice breaks
for you I’ll wait
for the salmon that returns in July
with silver scales that gleam contortedly

Curriculum Vitae M. Seppola Simonsen